Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 343,162 Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 343,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,789,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.07% of Centene at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Centene by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Centene by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus lowered Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

Centene Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CNC traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.30. The stock had a trading volume of 5,122,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,754,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.72. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $80.59.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.